By My Side until That Second

"Because…because…she came here with me," I said. The crowd gasped, they crooned, and they showed sympathy. But that was not what I wanted.

I looked to her instead. She looked radiant in that jeweled dress – Cinna really was a magician. Forget the apple of my eye, Katniss Everdeen is more than that – she is the fire in my life. And I just told the entire nation of Panem that I love her.

The things I do.

She is looking down at her dress, blushing, and I feel something within me come alive. Could it be? Could it be that all along, maybe, just maybe, the hostility was just a disguise for possible love?

Of course it wasn't, because this is the real world, Peeta. She has Gale, and you have…someone out there. Following in your father's footsteps…a voice inside my head spoke.

It is sad though. My father liked Katniss's mother, but she went for Mr. Everdeen, a coal miner with good intentions always in his heart. And I did the same; I fell for her daughter, just like my father once fell for her. Coincidence? Perhaps. Or I just inherited his exquisite taste.

Perhaps she doesn't believe it. Maybe she just thinks it's all a publicity stunt. But no matter how great Haymitch says my public-speaking skills are, I could never pull this off if it were just a stunt.

I want her to be by my side until that second; since I've already figured out I'm not going to make it through this thing. I want her to win, to be alive, so she can make beautiful babies with her beloved Gale.

And while that sounds bitter, I do not at all intend it to be taken as so. I simply want her to be happy. I did what I had to do. I told her I loved her before I died. The rest of my numbered days and how they turn out – that is up to her.

And with that, let the real games begin. Not the Hunger Games. Something far more crucial.